American financier, Stephan A. Schwarzman recently unveiled plans for the Schwarzman Scholars Program, to be housed at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Schwarzman, along with other private donors, will support an endowment of $300 million, anticipated to rival the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. In a press release, Schwarzman explained, "While the 20th century was defined by U.S. ties to Europe, there is no question that the nature of China's international relationships will play at least as important a role in this century." Speaking in Beijing, Schwarzman continued by saying, "China is no long an elective course, it's core curriculum."

The $300 million endowment will allow 200 students each year to take part in a one-year masters program at Tsinghua University, all expenses paid, in public policy, economics and business, international relations, or engineering, beginning in 2016. Students will hail predominately from the United States, but also from Europe, South Korea, Japan, India, and other countries.